News
Painting Eco-Murals on a MetroBus is One of Many Special Events at the Green Homes and Great Health Festival This Saturday
Patti Beck
Director of Communications
314-982-1440
St. Louis, MO – Children and adults are invited to help paint two colorful eco-murals on a MetroBus vehicle this Saturday as part of the Green Homes and Great Health Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden. The gigantic rolling work of art will travel on MetroBus routes in St. Louis City and County for the next year. Celebrate sustainable living and help your family live greener and live healthier by learning about the many ways that plants, air, water, soil, and energy sustain our homes, our health, and our Earth. Other special activities for children include an appearance by Fredbird, solar car races, puppet shows, face painting, storytelling, photo booth, and much more.
What: Green Homes and Great Health Festival
Where: Missouri Botanical Garden
4344 Shaw Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63110
When: Saturday, September 28, 2013 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
**MetroBus Painting Activity is only from noon-2 p.m.
Cost: St. Louis City and County residents enjoy free admission before noon Saturday and $4 thereafter. Admission for all other adults is $8 with children aged 12 and under free.
“The Missouri Botanical Garden is pleased to continue our relationship with local artists and Metro Arts in Transit in the Green Homes and Great Health Festival. The opportunity to engage children of all ages, in the production of a positive sustainability message for the MetroBus mural project, and then, share it on the streets of our community for a year is a meaningful part of our outreach work,” said Richard Reilly, Energy Programs Manager and Coordinator of the Bus Mural Project at Missouri Botanical Garden.
“This is the first time we have worked with artists from the Screwed Arts Collective,” said David Allen, Director of the Metro Arts in Transit Program. “We are excited about the designs they created and think the community will not only enjoy helping bring the design to life on the MetroBus but will also enjoy seeing it on MetroBus routes over the next 12 months.”
Two different murals designed by the Screwed Arts Collective in St. Louis will be painted on the MetroBus vehicle — one on each side featuring the same rich colors. One side focuses on urban farming, backyard gardening, planting and growing fruits and vegetables at home and the other side focuses on the renewable energy of the sun and the wind and alternative modes of transportation.
“When people see the artwork on the MetroBus, we hope that it affects them in a positive way, injecting public art and creativity into a context which is generally dominated by advertising,” said Bryan Walsh, Screwed
Arts Collective. “The importance of locally grown (organic, hormone-free, etc.) food is growing daily and we are glad to be a part of efforts by the Missouri Botanical Garden to increase awareness and we are thankful to Metro for providing the opportunity.”
The Screwed Arts Collective, established in 2010, is a group of thinkers, visual artists, musicians, and storytellers. They are committed to the evolution of participatory culture through various collaborative projects spanning a variety of traditional and non-traditional mediums including drawing, painting, music, video, print and installation.
The MetroBus painting will take place from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. All ages are welcome to help paint. In about two weeks, this MetroBus vehicle will join the Art Bus Fleet which is part of Metro’s Arts in Transit Program. The murals will stay on the MetroBus for one year and will travel various MetroBus routes throughout St. Louis City and St. Louis County. The Art Bus Fleet Program partners Metro with non-profit organizations in the community to raise awareness for their organizations. The bus painting activity at the Green Homes and Great Health Festival is sponsored by Sheet Metal Workers Local 36 and SMACNA St. Louis (Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors’ National Association). The presenting sponsor of the festival is Ameren Missouri.
For more information about the 12th annual festival, visit www.missouribotanicalgarden.org. Save gas and reduce pollution by taking Metro transit to the Missouri Botanical Garden. Visit www.metrostlouis.org to plan your trip or call 314-231-2345 or 618-271-2345 from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday for help planning your trip on public transit.
David Allen, representatives of Screwed Arts Collective, and Richard Reilly are available for interviews from noon until 2 p.m. Saturday at the MetroBus painting. Members of the media can reach Patti Beck from Metro at 314-486-9091 to arrange interviews prior to Saturday.
The Bi-State Development Agency/Metro (BSDA/Metro) is the operator of the Metro public transportation system for the St. Louis region, which includes the 87 vehicle, 46-mile MetroLink light rail system; 378 MetroBus vehicle fleet that operates on 75 MetroBus routes; and Metro Call‑A‑Ride, a paratransit fleet of 121 vans.
BSDA/Metro also owns and operates St. Louis Downtown Airport and its surrounding industrial business park, and the Gateway Arch Riverboats, as well as operates the Gateway Arch Revenue Collections Center, the Gateway Arch Transportation System, and the Gateway Arch Parking Facility.
